hasnât done anything either, except get in that fight at the skate park, and that isnât anything to do with the school. But it must be Ranga âcause I really havenât done anything. My guts are churning.
The lady behind the office desk smiles at me, all friendly. âHave a seat, Ian,â she says. âThe principal will be with you soon.â
I sit over by the planter box watching people come and go, mostly just delivering messages or cashbooks from the different teachers. Everyone who comes in here talks softly. Itâs the atmosphere. It feels a bit like a library, except no oneâs reading. I feel like itâs a law courtand Iâm about to be sentenced.
Finally Mr Sutton calls me into his office.
âSit down, Ian,â he says.
I sit on the chair he gestures to. Itâs comfy, with armrests. If only we had these in the classrooms. I lean back, but only a little. You canât slouch in the principalâs office.
Mr Sutton doesnât say anything for a while. He just stares at the desk in front of him, frowning slightly, making his mind up what to say, or how to say it. Finally he speaks. âHow have you been, Ian?â
âGood,â I say.
He points to my elbow. âHad an accident?â
âThe skate park,â I say.
âTrying for air?â he says.
It sounds so wrong, coming out of his mouth. He probably wants me to relax but it will never work. Heâs the principal and Iâm a kid, in his office. He should just get it over with.
And then he does. âIan, itâs about Warren.â
So it
is
Ranga. I feel anger rising up inside me. I sit forward. This time they arenât going to twist what I say.
âI told you, the black eye last week was from his skateboard. It happened in our driveway. The ramp webuilt broke and it hit him in the eye.â
âThe ramp?â
Mr Sutton is acting like that social worker, trying to trip me up with stupid questions. âNo, his skateboard,â I snap. Iâm angry.
Mr Sutton actually smiles. âYes,â he says, âI know, Ian.â
We sit in silence for a minute. I reckon heâs thinking about Ranga and his next question. Iâm thinking about getting out of there.
Finally he speaks again. âWere you there when he got the split lip?â
Split lip! Teachers notice everything! I have to be careful here. âNo,â I say, âbut James was. Ranga was defending James from a bully at the skate park.â
Mr Sutton just stares at me. It makes me feel really uncomfortable and I look away, but then I think that it makes me look like Iâm lying so I make myself stare back and he looks away, down at his desk.
âYouâre certain?â he says.
I want to shout at him, âWhat are you saying? Do you think Iâm a liar?â but I donât. I just say, âThey came around to my place just after it happened.â
Mr Sutton nods. âThank you, Ian. Youâve made things a lot clearer for me.â He jots something in a notepad and Isit there waiting for a minute or so before he looks up and smiles. âThat will be all. You can go back to class now.â
Iâm at the door when he calls, âIan!â
I freeze and then turn slowly.
Heâs smiling. âI donât think Warren will have anything to worry about from now on.â
I stare at him. It takes me a few moments to figure out what he means. Then I mumble something and head back to class. It feels like a cloud has lifted. I think Mr Sutton actually listened to me and believed me. Iâll have to wait for lunch to tell Ranga about it. Heâs got English now and Iâve got maths but thatâs cool.
I like algebra. I like getting real-life problems and making up equations and solving them. Let x equal the number of apples and y equal the number of boys. If only life could be solved like that. Then it would be easy. The trouble with life is that x